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Changing your habits: you gotta know your weaknesses

by Tsh Oxenreider

Tsh is the founder of this blog and just finished traveling around the world with her husband and 3 kids. Her latest book is Notes From a Blue Bike, and believes a passport is one of the world's greatest textbooks.

Hard to believe, but it’s already more than halfway through May. Those of you doing the 30 Days to a New Habit challenge – how’s it going? A few of you left comments, and even more of you sent me emails, so I truly would like to know about your progress (or possibly your lack thereof…).

You might remember that my habit change goal for May is to go to bed by 10:30 every night.

I have to admit that it’s much harder for me to go to bed at 10:30 than I thought it would be. A big part of the reason is simply my not being aware that it’s 10:30! I’ll look up at the clock, and time has mysteriously slipped right through my fingers. I chalk it up to euphoria from both kids finally being asleep at the same time.

This highlights my need to be aware of my weak spots.

As you focus on changing just one habit in May, have you noticed your weak spots? Are you possibly attempting this lifestyle change during a challenging time of day for you? Are you being a bit too secretive about this personal goal, thereby cutting off a potential circle of accountability? Is this habit change simply not important enough for you to focus on it?

Since my arch-nemesis to going to bed on time is not being aware of the time, I’ve taken some specific measures:

I’ve set an alarm for 10 p.m. on my MacBook’s dashboard (also effectively scaring the pants off me if I’m deeply focused on something on the computer)

I have my Google Calendar send me an email at 10:15, basically telling me to GO TO BED!

I meet weekly with a friend who serves as my accountability partner. We talk about how we’re doing spiritually and in our relationship with God, but we’ve also chosen to keep each other accountable for one other area in our lives. You can guess what area I’ve chosen. It helps me to know that I have to tell someone every Wednesday if I’m going to bed on time.

By blatantly sharing my goal on this blog, I allow other people a glimpse into my life. Friends and family have been asking whether I’m going to bed on time.

It’s still a habit I have to actively pursue, but these actions really have helped me.